Image source: Manga-News — via manga-news.com
Japan Expo's guest lineup was especially impressive this year, including animation director Kumiko Habara, known in recent years for works such as Blue Miburo, I'm Standing on a Million Lives, I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss, and Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp. She was accompanied by her husband, fellow animation veteran Nobuyoshi Habara, and the two were interviewed together as both artists and spouses. In the interview, Kumiko Habara discusses her experience directing I'm Standing on a Million Lives as one of her first major directorial works, noting she had previously worked as an assistant director, and reflects on the challenge of adapting certain dark storylines, such as those involving drug use, into animated form.